Taler van Hamburg, op naam van keizer Ferdinand II (1619-1637), afkomstig van het wrak van het VOC-schip Batavia 1621

Cast in silver during the early 17th century, this coin bears witness to the reign of Emperor Ferdinand II, yet hails from the City State of Hamburg. The image of the Emperor, though absent here, carries with it the weight of imperial authority, a concept stretching back to Roman times. The very act of minting a coin with his name echoes the ancient Roman practice of imprinting emperors' images, a claim to power and a symbol of control over economic life. Consider how these symbols of authority shift: from the direct representation of power in antiquity, to the subtle assertion of influence through coinage in the Holy Roman Empire. This coin, discovered in the wreckage of the Batavia, speaks to the unpredictable journey of symbols, how they are carried across oceans, buried in shipwrecks, only to resurface centuries later, laden with new meaning. It serves as a potent reminder of how symbols evolve, gaining layers of history, loss, and rediscovery.